Sixteen UK delegates, all BMF members bar one, have just come back from four days of visiting some of Italy’s most prominent West Coast yacht yards. The tour was organised by the British Marine Federation (BMF) as well as the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

The La Spezia production centre of Baglietto Yachts - Image credit to Baglietto Yachts

Kicking off on Tuesday 13 May the tour consisted of many double espressos with a jam packed itinerary, including:

– Tours of Baglietto Spa, Sanlorenzo Spa, Admiral Tecnomar Spa, Gruppo FIPA Italiana Yacht Srl and Fratelli Rossi Cantiere navale Srl to name a few
– ‘Networking Aperitif’ (supported by Seatec) with a presentation from Michelangelo Casadei (Ferretti Group) on what Italian yards look for in a supplier.
– Networking event at the consulate in Naples, attended by a number of Italian distributors and boat builders including Arcadia Yachts and Cantieri Palumbo.

The objective of the tour was to familiarise UK companies with the working of Italian yards, their buying patterns and procedures and assist them in developing key contacts in an aim to develop trade links between the UK and Italian marine industries. This certainly seemed to have been accomplished by one delegate, Raniero Lombardi, Tides Marine, who noted “The dominating impression that this is a time of changes in the Italian marine industry:  restructuring companies, ownership changes, new investments, new operators approaching in the market. Thanks to this tour organized by BMF and UKTI we have a better picture and an indication of the direction to take.”

The popular, efficient and cost effective way of meeting key contacts at boat yards and exploring the market means the BMF’s International Team are keen to progress the benefit of Yard Tours in developing overseas prospects and growth for BMF members after the consistent successes of this and previous trips.

Alex Stevens, Teignbridge Propellers Int. Ltd, said “The recent BMF tour of the Italian Yards was impeccably organised and was a fantastic opportunity for us to meet the key decision makers at each yard and get an even greater understanding of the marine industry in Italy.  I’m sure this will allow us to build on our already large presence in Italy and to provide an even better service to our customers.”